The Elephant Girl(12)

‘I don’t like drawing attention to myself.’

‘That’s understandable, given what you witnessed as a child, but maybe it’s time to say goodbye to the ugly duckling and turn into the swan you were always meant to be. To come into your own, as it were.’

Ignoring Helen’s glare, Aggie nibbled a piece of sponge cake, like an automaton as if she didn’t really taste it. ‘I admit that William and I didn’t do as much as we could’ve done to make the girls get on. We were too preoccupied with the merger. The company was our passion. When we did notice that all was not well between our daughters, William fell ill, and I divided my time between nursing him and running the company. Letitia was a great help, as was your mother, though she was barely out of school.’

‘What about Ruth?’

Aggie scoffed. ‘Ruth was in love. She always was in those days. Nothing else seemed to matter to her. One after the other, and they were all disasters.’

‘But then she married Jeremy.’

‘Eventually. He was a disaster too.’

It suddenly dawned on Helen what Aggie was driving at. ‘And now you want me to do what Ruth can’t, or won’t. You want me on your side against Letitia. That’s why you wanted me to come back.’ She hadn’t imagined she could be useful to Aggie, and now she saw the role she was expected to play, it wasn’t quite what she’d hoped for.

Aggie’s mouth tightened. ‘Letitia will do as I say. I still own eighteen per cent of the shares. That’s enough to throw a spanner in the works, with a few of the other shareholders on my side. You, my dear, read too many trashy novels.’

‘I haven’t read a book in years. Reality is strange enough.’

‘You’re right about that.’ Aggie put her fork down, suddenly looking very tired. ‘I’m sorry, but would you mind awfully if we continued this conversation tomorrow? These confounded medicines sap my strength so.’ She pulled at a lever on her chair which pushed her halfway up, but still she had difficulties getting out of her seat.

Overcome by a sudden pity, Helen got up to help her, but her grandmother waved her away.

‘I’ll manage. Be a good girl and ring for Mrs Sanders so she can tidy up.’

Mrs Sanders appeared almost immediately as if she’d been waiting right outside. With expert hands she helped the old lady into an electric bed at the other end of the room, took off her too-tight pumps, and pulled a blanket up to cover her hips. This done, she cleared away the tea things and left the room without a word.

‘Do you want me to go?’ Helen asked.

Aggie patted a chair next to the adjustable bed. ‘Stay a while, Helen.’

This was the first time she’d used Helen’s name since she got here, as opposed to ‘child’ or ‘girl’. Helen experienced a rush of something. Affection? ‘You never really liked my name, did you?’

‘Helen is a perfectly sensible name.’

‘I meant my real name. Yelena. Ridiculous, I think you said.’

‘Hm. I may have said something like that. It seemed a little too … exotic for a girl like you.’

‘No one in your social circle had daughters who married foreigners. My mother brought shame on the family, is that what you thought?’

‘It seemed unnecessary, when there were so many suitable English men vying for her attention. But I wasn’t ashamed of her.’ Aggie leaned back against her many pillows and closed her eyes. She sat like this for a while, and Helen thought she’d fallen asleep when she said, ‘They’re trying to put me in a home, you know.’

‘Who?’

‘My daughters, who else? Letitia doesn’t think I’m able to look after myself. Getting me a nanny was just one step in that direction. Ultimately I think she’ll have me declared mentally incompetent in order to control my shares. I don’t blame her,’ she added in response to Helen’s look of disbelief. ‘That’s how I brought her up, to have a head for business. I just don’t think I can hold out against the pressure much longer.’

They sat in silence for a while longer, then Helen blurted out the question which had been on the tip of her tongue throughout. ‘Tell me about Fay.’

Aggie eyed her through half-closed lids. ‘You took your time.’

‘I didn’t exactly get a word in edgeways, with you going on and on about the company, did I?’

That brought a flicker of a smile to Aggie’s pale lips. ‘Go on.’

‘Where is she? How long has she been out of prison?’

‘A few months. You’re not going to do anything silly, are you? Anyway, what makes you so sure I know where she is?’